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Stacy Gittleman

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Resident Girls Hope
scholars Leathra
Burrell, 17, and
Serenity Sutton and
Sha-kiya Money,
both 16, talk with
Cherie Morganroth
about college.

High Hopes

Volunteer offers guidance,
nurturing to Detroit girls.

Stacy Gittleman | Contributing Writer

A

s an attorney, Cherie Morganroth
of Bloomfield Hills has dedi-
cated most of her adult life to
her career. Thorough and scrupulous in
everything she does, when the time came
in her life to pursue a hands-on volunteer-
ing opportunity, she found just the right
fit by giving her time and advice to six
teen girls living and learning together in
a house run by Boys Hope Girls Hope of
Detroit (BHGH, boyshopegirlshope.org).
Boys Hope Girls Hope is an interna-
tional charitable organization that focuses
on academically strong students who are
motivated and capable but do not have
a home life that supports their academic
pursuits.
After a rigorous application process,
selected students are placed into private
high schools and attend an intensive
after-school college prep program for two
hours every day. The goal is to get the kids
through high school and into college with
scholarships, with assistance and guidance
through college as well.
In a home in the historic Palmer
Woods neighborhood, six girls live, work
and study together in the BHGH house
throughout the year and return to their
family every other weekend. On a recent
evening, the girls were at a massive din-
ing table eating dinner cooked by a house
“mother,” studying for finals and chatting
about prom.
Over the last months, Morganroth,
49, visited with the girls during dinner
time to talk about her career and the
girl’s plans for college and beyond. She
has brought her twin nieces, students at
the University of Michigan and Michigan
State University, to talk about the college
application process and college life. She
also has brought a yoga instructor to let
the girls try out some poses and tech-
niques as a way to blow off stress.
Morganroth reached out to the orga-
nization in January 2016 as her first
foray into volunteering. Though she first
considered being a board member, what

she really wanted to do with her volunteer
time was to provide nurturing support to
the girls.
BHGH Program Director Rebecca
Limbaugh, MSW, MA, who grew up in
inner-city Detroit, said girls living in the
group home are given the opportunity to
expand their horizons. The organization
welcomes volunteers like Morganroth
because they model professions the teens
can aspire to, she added.
“At BHGH, teens have the opportunity
to meet people and have artistic and
cultural experiences they would not oth-
erwise encounter in their home environ-
ments,” Limbaugh said.
“In most cases, most of our kids live in
a setting where the only time they would
meet someone like Cherie is if they or a
relative would be charged with commit-
ting a crime. Developing a relationship
with professionals allows our boys and
girls to be motivated, dream big and start
thinking about their college and their
future.”
Leathra Burrell, 17, a junior at
Renaissance High School in Detroit, has
big plans. A competitive swimmer, she
hopes to land a swimming scholarship
at an in-state university to study physical
therapy and American Sign Language.
“Living here helps me stay structured
and organized and gives me the chance
to see what it would be like living away
from my family with people of all differ-
ent backgrounds,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed
getting to know Cherie and learning from
her.”
Morganroth said, “The work with
BHGH has been profoundly enriching.
I was welcomed into the program with
open arms and, over the coming months,
I look forward to developing programs for
them, such as bringing in guest speakers
who can teach them the ins and outs of
what employers are looking for. I hope I
am offering them further nurturing. I find
spending my time with them personally
gratifying.”

Marshall N. Cyrlin, M.D.

Glaucoma and Cataract Consultation
medical, laser, surgical therapy

Graduate:
Washington University School of Medicine,
St. Louis, MO
Internship:
Washington University, Barnes Jewish Hospital,
St. Louis, MO
Residency:
University of Illinois, Ill. Eye and Ear Infirmary,
Chicago, IL
Glaucoma Fellowship:
Harvard University, Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary,
Boston, MA

Board Certified:
American Board of Ophthalmology
Member:
American Academy of Ophthalmology
Charter Member: American Glaucoma Society
Member:
American Society of Cataract
and Refractive Surgery

Attending Staff:
Sinai Huron Valley Hospital,
Commerce Township, MI
William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI

Dr. Cyrlin proudly announces the relocation
of his practice to Wayne State University
Physicians Group, Kresge Eye Institute at its
newly opened facility located at

26400 West 12 Mile Road, Suite 60
Southfield, MI 48034
248 263-2640

Appointments welcomed for new,
existing and former patients

*

June 30 • 2016

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